The organization came into operation on 1 September 1996 via a corporatization scheme of standards and industrial research institute.

In 1964, the Government of Malaysia directed the Minister of Commerce and Industry to make a study of the establishment of a national standards organization.

This is in response to the urgent necessity of adopting the principles of standardization in light of Malaysia's accelerating industrial development.

As a result, the Standards Institution of Malaysia (SIM) was initially established as a governmental department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in early 1966.

With this merger, SIRIM is better equipped to expand its scope of operations in line with the rapid industrialization in Malaysia.